Darkest Duels: Count Dooku vs Darth Maul
by Thaeonblade
Summary: Even as good constantly struggles against evil, the forces of darkness often clash with one another. Competing, scheming, dominating and destroying one another, their battle will never end until only one stands among them as the true master of evil. They stand within the shadows of our imagination, even inspiring fear and chaos in the real world. But who is the darkest deviant?
1. Prelude: Combatant Data

**_Copyright: I own nothing and I am master of nothing._**

Because we all have occasional bouts of lust for bloodshed and murder, I think that we oughta have a long-term tournament to appease this appetite as well as the appetites of other violence lovers out there.

These duels shall pit the most evil, cruel and vile villains in the fictional universes from films, tv shows, anime, cartoons and video games into a one on one battle where there can only be one victor! The combatants will have access to all of their standard and native abilities and any weapon that they can bring with them into the arena. The battle will be concluded one one combatant is rendered unable to continue, forfeits or dies. There is no time limit and the arena is an endless dimension with random environments.

This first battle will be a tip-off to sith fans as we decide to take time to conclude one of the greatest fan feuds.

**Darth Maul**

**Vs**

**Count Dooku**

Both were popular and powerful warriors of the Dark Side in their respective movies; both are skilled duelists with plenty of blood on their hands; and both were trained by master manipulator Darth Sidious...AKA Palpatine.

But who is truly worthy to stand beside Sidious as his apprentice?

The Jedi will be happy either way! Right guys?

"I'll be more happy when Maul dies-"

"Obi-Wan!"

"Shut up Anakin! You'd be the same way if he had killed Padme."

"I wouldn't have let that happen."

"What was that?"

"By idiots, I am surrounded." Yoda said with a palm on his face while Obi-Wan and Anakin argued behind him, "Popcorn, can you pass?"

"Sure Master Yoda." Ahsoka replied and handed a bag of popcorn to the elder jedi master, "By the way...why are watching them instead of arresting or killing them?"

"More fun this is." Yoda answered, "Receive 30% of all proceeds from gambling bets, the Jedi Order will receive."

"Ah...isn't that against the code?"

"Say nothing about gambling, the code does."

"What the hell kind of jedi are we?"

"Guardians of Peace and Justice." Yoda replied while he started eating his popcorn despite a disbelieving Ahsoka.

"Guardians of Peace and Justice my ass."

* * *

**Preface: The Combatants!**

* * *

**Darth Maul**

Born: 54 years before the Battle of Yavin

Age: 34

Species: Darthomirian Zabrak

Sex: Male

Weight: 80 kilograms

Height: 2.13 meters (1.75 prior to prostectic installments)

Affiliations: The Sith Lords; Apprentice of Darth Sidious (formerly); Himself; Shadow Collective; Mandalore of the Mandalorians (With Almec as a puppet figurehead)

**Background:**

Trained from birth in the ways of the Dark Side by Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Darth Maul is an effective and powerful Sith Assassin who is no stranger to brutality or death. His Master used him as dagger in the shadows up until his assumed death during the Battle for Naboo.

But, Maul harnessed the dark side to use his hatred to survive his otherwise fatal injuries and retreated from galactic knowledge for twelve years. During this time, he...went a little insane...Eventually, he was found by his brother and Sith-Trained Dark Jedi Savage Oppress and brought before Dark Side Sorceress Talzen who restored Maul's mind and replaced his clumsy spider legs for more manageable bi-pedal prostetics filled with dark side power.

After his revival, Maul was initially dead set on revenge against Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi. Eventually, his thirst for vengeance cooled and he decided to form an underground empire. His efforts to carve out his own niche in the galaxy culminated with the takeover of Mandalore and being declared Mandalore after using the traditions of the warrior race against them.

**Skills and Abilities:**

As a Sith Assassin, Darth Maul is an expert combatant, expertly utilizing martial arts and lightsaber combat to overcome his foes. His lightsaber abilitiy includes mastery of the double-bladed lightsaber (saberstaff); Expert Proficiency with Duel Wielding; Single-bladed combat; and the Lightsaber styles of Juyo and Niman.

Strong in the force and trained in the ways of the dark side, Darth Maul is skilled in the usage of telekinesis, able to lift large ships without full focus and can even lift up and choke people without looking at them. After his return, Maul has also utilized the Sith Art of Don Moch, a taunting technique that focuses on discouragement and prying at the mental weaknesses of your enemy. He also possesses a powerful force domination which can even persuade enemies to commit suicidal actions like detonate a bomb next to his comrades.

Darth Maul also possesses a remarkable amount of endurance as a result of his sith training and his heritage as a zabrak. This endurance even allowed him to withstand force lightning from powerful nightsister Mighella whom he kill shortly afterwards. Not to mention surviving being cut in half when that should kill just about anyone else.

He is also very agile and acrobatic, within combat and outside of combat regardless of the environment in which he fights. Due to his strength in the dark side, he is also immune to mind-affecting or mind control abilities as the unfortunate Black Sun guard of Vigo Narees found out the hard way.

Within and outside of combat, Maul possesses a brutal, cunning and manipulative strategem. Allowing him to take advantage of any weakness that he spots without hesitation and without mercy. As demonstrated during his fateful duel with Qui-Gon Jinn and his masterful takeover of Mandalore.

**Kill Count:**

Throughout his career, Darth Maul has murdered many skilled and noteworthy targets in his blood-filled quest for power. Amongst his marks are various sorceress' and warriors of the Dark Side Night Sisters; many guards and assassins of the Black Sun; and no less than three highly skilled jedi masters including Qui-Gon Jinn. In addition, he has also bested Mandalorian Death Watch Leader Pre Vizla in single combat and claimed his darksaber as his own after beheading the prolific Mandalorian duelist.

In addition, he also overpowered and gained mastery of his brother, Savage Opress, a dark jedi who has killed his share of jedi including Council Member Adi Gallia.

But Maul's most noteworthy encounters are with Jedi Negotiator Obi-Wan Kenobi. Let's be honest, the only reason that Obi-Wan walked away from their first duel was because of Maul's own arrogance and because of his plot armor. Before Obi-Wan's leap of faith, the sith apprentice had neatly overpowered Obi-Wan and even disarmed the young padawan of his lightsaber.

The next two times were more or less stalemates and though their latest encounter was not necessarily a lightsaber duel...Maul clearly came out victorious. Just ask Satine.

Oh wait...she's dead.

Despite his impressive profile, Maul is not invincible and his a few very note-worthy weaknesses

**Weaknesses:**

Though named Darth Maul, he was never trained beyond what he needed to act as an Assassin. Therefore, his pool of force skills are somewhat lacking.

He also possessed a high amount of arrogance, easily underestimating his enemy's when he believed that he had beaten them. Hence his weak defeat at the hands of Obi-Wan in the Phantom Menace.

As a result of that fateful encounter, Darth Maul must make usage of metallic prostetic legs to remain mobile. Though these prostetics do not hamper his combat prowess, they need to be replaced if they are damaged in battle.

* * *

**Count Dooku AKA Darth Tyrannus**

Born: 102 years before the Battle of Yavin

Age: 82

Species: Human

Sex: Male

Weight: 86 kilograms

Height: 1.93 Meters

Affiliations: The Jedi Order (Formerly); The Sith Lords; Apprentice of Darth Sidious; Himself; Confederacy of Independent Star Systems

**Background:**

Former pupil of Master Yoda himself and the Master of fan favorite, Qui-Gon Jinn, Count Dooku was a well revered Jedi Master within the Order. Owing to discontent with the inaction of the Jedi and the growing corruption of the Republic, Dooku eventually severed ties with both after the Battle for Naboo. Shortly afterwards, he met and bowed before the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious and was given the title of Darth Tyrannus.

As Tyrannus, Dooku carried on his master's plan to weaken both the Republic and the Jedi. First by instigating a series of events that would lead to the birth of a Separatist Movement within the Galaxy that would weaken faith in the Republic. Then, he gathered the leaders of the Movement together to form the Confederacy of Independent Star Systems and declared open war against the Republic.

In addition, Dooku was further trained in the ways of the dark side for over 10 years, adding to his already considerable knowledge as a jedi master. Even though he was eventually fought, defeated and murdered by Anakin Skywalker, Dooku's legacy lived on in the gaping wounds that he left in the Republic.

**Skills and Abilities:**

As both a Sith Lord and a Former Jedi Master, Dooku is a legendary lightsaber duelist unmatched by few. Though he practiced all seven forms, he prefers the dueling finesse of Form 2-Makashi which further complements his curved, single-bladed lightsaber. With 83 years worth of practice, old age has not daunted Dooku's combative skill.

In addition his talents with the lightsaber, Dooku is also very powerful in the force. Capable of utiilizing telekinesis with masterful proficiency and even limited flight. In addition, he could also use Tame Beast, Drain Knowledge, Force Stealth, and even Force Lightning. He even possessed the capability of multi-tasking between martial combat and force powers.

He is highly agile and heavily tactical even amidst the chaotic dance of blades and blood. In addition, he also utilized the art of Dun Moch to great effectiveness as a warrior and as a diplomat. His skills a diplomat are further enhanced by his natural charisma, allowing him to more easily manipulate his victims without drawing upon the force.

**Kill Count:**

As a politician, Dooku hasn't had much action. But that makes him no slouch either, because when he needs to be tough...he'll get tough.

Due to his dueling prowess, he has bested Jedi Hero Obi-Wan Kenobi on multiple occasions with a lightsaber and with his force knowledge and was responsible for amputating Anakin Skywalker's right arm.

He also fought and murdered Jedi Master Sifo Dyass and even bested skilled Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress as well as training the infamous Jedi Hunter, General Grievous.

**Weaknesses:**

At the age of 82, Count Dooku is easily well past his prime. As a result, his endurance, body and stamina are limited during lengthy battles or situations that will push his physical limits.

Furthermore, his Jedi Indoctrination at times conflict with his Sith Training. Even at his worst, Dooku not utterly ruthless and has some honor left over from his roots as a jedi.

He is also highly proud, sometimes relaying on his own vision rather than attempting to look beyond it. As a result of this stubborn attitude, Dooku can be left blindsided by things that he should keep in mind. Such as during his death in Revenge of the Sith.

* * *

Two Sith Lords will enter the Arena, but only one will emerge victorious.

Who will survive and more importantly, who will DIE?

**PLACE YOUR BETS!**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Inspired by Sneak Attack's Death Battles, we'll find out for ourselves as to who would win in a duel between two individuals of evil.**

**Today, Count Dooku faces off with Darth Maul to defend his position as Sidious' one and true apprentice.**

**For there can only be two, a Master and an Apprentice.**

**Sources for all of their abilities come from the films, the clone wars tv show, and various books and comics. If anyone has anything that they'd like to contribute, or just cast their forecast then post in the comments.**


	2. The Duel: There can only be Two

_**The Duel**_

"Whoever you are, I will applaud your relocation abilities!" Count Dooku shouted while standing upon a wide multi-tiled floor within a vast impenetrable darkness save only for a single set of closed doors in front of the Count, "However, your security detail is greatly lacking. I will take my leave of this place while you pray that we never met again.

Suddenly the doors began to slowly open, revealing a figure in dark robes that Dooku observed with keen focus. The figure stepped out from the fading doors, revealing a zabrak with red skin and black tattoos upon his face. More importantly, Dooku sensed the potent and familiar presence of the dark side within this newcomer and soon recognized him for who he was.

"So you were my predecessor." Dooku said as the figure allowed his robes to fall from his form, revealing a simple black attire that did little to hide the cybernetic legs that the zabrak sith had in place of the ones that he'd lost, "My master praised your assassination prowess after your demise. The force must indeed be strong with you for you to stand before me alive and in one piece...relatively speaking."

"The Dark Side adheres to the Will of the Strong. I am Strong." Darth Maul explained with a voice that eminated with malice and confidence, "For I am it's master. A Dark Lord of the Sith."

Dooku burst out into laughter. As the fallen jedi's laughter echoed through this strange place, Maul stood in place, not moving as Dooku continued to mock him.

"Your claim is much more valid than many others who said the same thing. But you..." Several tiles lifted from their place on the floor as Dooku approached Maul, "You wear the trappings of the sith, you were trained by the sith, you fight as a sith and you think as a sith. But these can be imitated, my friend."

"I would say the same of you." Maul replied as he allowed Dooku to walk past without either looking at the other, "But you lack a fine quality that separates the Sith from the weak."

"A Sith shows no fear." The two sith lords said at the same time, "And I sense much fear in you."

"If I have any fear, it is not for you." Maul spat as he felt the echoes of his master's laugh course through his mind, "I have fought and slain many of your kind, Jedi."

"That title, no longer has any meaning for me." Dooku replied, exhaling as he took in the environment and the situation that he was now in, "Perhaps I should demonstrate my true profession."

"Amuse me then."

"With pleasure." Dooku spun around at the same time that his foe did, unleashing torrents of blue-violet force lightning at his foe. The Sith assassin narrowly dodged the blast and telepathically lifted and threw several tiles in Dooku's direction. Dooku focused to stop the tiles in place and then lifted up several others to throw them and the earlier tiles at Maul. Maul threw out his arm to punch a hole in the wall of tiles while the rest flew by him as he ran towards Dooku. Dooku reached out and gripped the assassin's cybernetic leg to throw the assassin to the ground and then fired another blast of force lightning at the zabrak.

The Zabrak snarled in angrish as Dooku continued to unleash his force lightning upon the fallen sith lord. The Fallen Jedi Master raised a single eyebrow as Maul managed to stand upon his feet as if he were resisting the effects of the lightning surge. Seeing the Zabrak pull back his arm, Dooku immediately did the same as he relinquished his lightning and applied his Own force push to counter Maul's.

Never moving, they struggled against one another; never faltering, they applied more and more force to their tug of war; their eyes locked with each other, their determination to kill the other only increased. Finally, the air-pocket compressed by the combined Force pushes ruptured and exploded, flinging both sith lords away from each other as the area echoed with the sound of small pieces of debris that hit the floor.

Dooku kept himself from hitting the hard floor with the force and lightly levitated to the floor as Maul flipped onto his feet. Though neither would admit it, they were impressed with the force power that they had displayed with each other.

"Well...at least I am amused."

"It is clear that this contest will only be decided through one avenue." Dooku declared as he brought out his curved lightsaber and activated it to reveal a scarlet blade, "But by our martial skill with a lightsaber."

"Agreed." Maul took out a long lightsaber hilt that Dooku noted to be a saberstaff and activated a single crimson blade.

"Intriguing." Dooku smirked in curiosity of what his opponent must be thinking and noted a second hilt on Maul's belt, "If you wish to use a second, I will not disallow it. It will make no difference in this contest between us."

"My tools are mine to use when I see fit." Maul answered as he settled into a stance that Dooku recognized. The two combatants quietly closed the difference between each other until Maul moved in to begin the battle. Dooku used the force to sweep out Maul's legs, though the assassin managed to stay footed when Dooku dealt the opening blow of their duel.

Dooku fluidly stepped and clashed his blade against the heavy strikes of his opponent. Both foes used their agility in their own ways to try and confound the other.

Dooku's agility was more focused within his arms and his footwork as he sought to control the central line of his opponent and sever the unrevealed secondary blade of Maul's saberstaff before it could be activated. With grace and finesse, he would unbalance his enemy and defeat them at the opportune moment.

Maul struck with the ferocity of a Sarapin beast, using high energy maneuvers and blows to beat away at his enemy's capabilities. To the outside observer, Maul's blows seemed like a disjointed dance. But Dooku had studied and easily recognized the rising momentum that the Sith Assassin was employing.

Finally, the two were locked in a tight bladelock that Dooku found himself losing. But this was more than a battle of physical capability, but of mental focus as well.

"Tell me Maul...how does it feel to only be half of a man?"

"I'm not human remember? Unlike your weakling apprentice was, old man."

"The Force acts beyond the limits of crude matter."

"Then why do I see sweat on your wrinkled brow?"

"Dun Moch...an effective tool against the uninitiated." Dooku stated as the two Sith continued to clash their blades against one another, "But we are initiated, aren't we Maul? Apprentices in the ways of the Dark Side."

"Members of the Dark Lords of the Sith."

"And you failed us."

"Regrettably. But I have returned, for only the strong survive."

"We shall see just how strong you are." Dooku pushed off of Maul's blade, forcing both combatants to fall back several feet from each other, "I suppose that we shouldn't waste our strength on words, should we?"

"No...I suppose that we shouldn't." It was a quick moment, but Dooku saw Maul swiftly grab the second hilt as the two clashed once more and Dooku was unsurprised when Maul activated the black blade of the darksaber. Dooku adapted his footing to adjust for the increased velocity of Maul's duel-saber capability and increased offensive reach. Dooku's mind continued to wheel under the merciless assault that was starting to gain the advantage over his duelist style as his combatant gained more and more momentum.

Sensing an opening, Dooku locked his blade against both of Maul's and knocked them away as he moved to strike Maul's side. Maul dodged the strike and slash kicked Dooku in his shoulder and kicked him onto the floor face first. Dooku recovered and pushed out with the force and threw Maul away from him. Dooku stood upon his feet and fired a bolt of Force Lightning to momentarily stun Maul as he closed the distance between them to finish this fight. Maul had recovered enough to defend against Dooku's calculated and rapid strikes.

Dooku fully knew about the weaknesses of duel wielding and maintained his offense to prevent the Sith Lord from being able to build any more kinetic momentum. Dooku side-stepped a strike from the dark saber and slashed for Maul's neck. Maul blocked the attack and snarled when Dooku blocked his blow from the dark saber. Though he was at a seeming disadvantage, Maul could sense something within his opponent. A weakness that was becoming more and more apparent the longer that this contest continued. Maul smiled even as Dooku pushed him back with a burst of force power and when Dooku fired a bolt of force lightning into his body. Deciding to keep up this growing weakness, Maul used his sabers to block Dooku's torrent of lightning and focused upon Dooku's wind pipe at the same time that Dooku had tried to grip his leg.

Both combatants were brought to their knees before recovering and continuing their duel. Maul saw noted how Dooku's strikes were starting to become more direct, attempting to disarm or amputate a limb from Maul rather than go for killing blows. All while Maul continued to seize the physical advantage. He found that it was becoming easier and easier to bat aside Dooku's "finer" strikes with his greater momentum and fierce velocity. After batting aside Dooku's blade, he kicked the left side of Dooku's rib cage and spun around Dooku's counterstrike until both combatants had their backs to each other. In a split second, both combatants began to spin in order to correct this and Maul was quicker.

A second blade activated.

Looking at the back of his opponent, Maul smiled deviously as Dooku staggered forward with his right arm lifeless upon the ground. Meanwhile, Maul held his fully activated saberstaff in his right hand and the darksaber in the other. Maul had long learned patience from his defeat at the hands of Kenobi and waited as Dooku dazily walked forward in pain and shock. The old man turned and fired a bolt of force lightning which Maul blocked with his darksaber while spinning his saberstaff to rapidly cut off Dooku's hand and his arm up to the elbow and then the rest of it up to his shoulder.

Pain, Agony, and the sheer weight of defeat stunned Dooku as he fell to his knees. He looked to where his right arm lied and tried to focus upon the lightsaber within his lifeless hand. But the pain that he felt was too great...he couldn't focus to call upon the force and lift up the lightsaber. Even if he could, he had no hands to hold it with nor any other way to continue this contest against the zabrak.

He had lost.

"Submit." Maul commanded as the blades of his sabers rested next to Dooku's neck. Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, he heard a laugh that made his fierce eyes widen in fear. The first true fear that Dooku had ever seen from his opponent since their duel had begun, "Master?"

"Well done Lord Maul! Well done!" Darth Sidious said with sadistic excitement as he slowly marched from forth from the surrounding shadows. The arena crackled with his delightful laughter as he approached his apprentices, "You have failed me for the last time, Tyrannus."

"Lord Sidious..." Dooku breathed, quickly realizing that a transference had just occurred within the Order of the Sith Lords, "But...you would have this...beast to lead the Fist of the New Order?"

"The Fist of the New Order was only born within your delusional mind. A fixation born from your pride...I will not allow your lack of vision to destroy my plans for my Empire." Sidious said with disappointment, Maul watched his master stalk towards him as if waiting upon his call, "This old fool was a waste of my time and resources. Kill him."

"Why?" Sidious laughed as Dooku stoically spoke, he was not asking for mercy but for a reason, "We could...destroy the jedi...together...all of us. Are the jedi not our true enemy?"

"Remember the first and only truth of the Sith Lords, Tyrannus. There can only be two." Sidious coldly stated to the shaking Count as he approached the recently concluded duel, "And you are no longer my apprentice. You have been replaced by one more worthy and more powerful."

"Take this knowledge with you into oblivion." Maul said to the silent and fearless Count, "Good...you will not beg for mercy. Had circumstances been different, if I had died on Naboo...you would have been a worthy successor to our master. But, the weak shall die to make room for the strong and the worthy. Despair if you wish, but remember that I granted you a warrior's death." The Count closed his eyes and took a final breath before Maul brought his blades through the Count's neck, decapitating Darth Tyrannus and instantly ending his life.

"You have proven yourself powerful, Darth Maul." Maul sheathed his sabers and knelt before the cloaked figure in reverence and obedience, "Rise and follow me, my apprentice."

"Yes Master." Now where he belonged, Lord Maul stood upon his feet and followed his master away from his mysterious battleground. He reached back and used the force to pull the curved hilt of his fallen foe into his hand. In front of the zabrak, Sidious' face held a wide and sadistic smile from the events that had occurred on this day, "What of the Seperatist Movement that Dooku directed my master?"

"You will assume command of it from the shadows with Grievous as your mouthpiece."

"As I did with Mandalore?"

"Precisely."

"I will not fail you again master."

"See that you don't." Sidious warned his newly returned apprentice, "The next time that you fail me, I will see to it that your hatred has nothing left to sustain. Understood?"

"Yes my master."


	3. Verdict: Framework of Victory

**_THE VERDICT_**

That...was very close. Though the two combatants were virtually completely even, Maul manages to claim victory by the tip of his horns.

As you saw, Maul and Dooku were evenly matched in lightsaber combat up until the last fateful moment of the duel. Maul's agility and offensive power canceled out Dooku's efficiency and bladework. Neither was able to overpower the other due to the distinct advantages that both held in the duel. Though Maul's eventual untilization of duel wielding granted extra offensive power, Dooku is no stranger to battling duel wielding enemy's and was able to maintain his footing until the very end. Maul eventually showed himself to be the superior warrior and applied his versatility in lightsaber and martial combat to deal the finishing blow.

Dooku's clear edge lied within his great pool of force knowledge and ability. Enabling him to use his telekinesis to knock Maul off balance at key points and his usage of Force Lightning granted him a clear long range advantage. He was also able to use force grip to target Maul's legs and would've quickly knocked Maul out of battle if Maul hadn't applied his own usage of force grip to force Dooku to cancel his own.

As both are trained in the ways of the Sith and of the Dark Side, neither wouldn't have bothered with seriously using Dun Moch due it's pointlessness. Any negative emotions such as anger or hatred that sprang from it's usage would only end up fueling the other. Though charismatic, Dooku would not bother with using his charisma against the uncompromising Maul.

Both are evenly matched in raw force power and would've been able to channel all of it into their considerable talents.

However, this contest was not decided by their affinity with the force. But by the limits of their physical stamina and endurance.

While he is a strong warrior and a masterful duelist, Count Dooku is still an old man in his 80s. He is well past his prime and isn't quite knowledgeable and intuned with the force that he could overcome the disadvantages of his age as Yoda or Sidious could. The amount of physical energy that he can exert would be drastically limited compared to a younger and more in shape fighter of similar skill such as Maul.

In addition, his victories over Obi-Wan and initially Anakin can be attributed to taking advantage of their own tactical weaknesses in addition to his skill. When he fought them on Geonosis, the two jedi heroes had just fought a tense and draining battle in the Geonosis Arena and were noticeably tired while Dooku entered that battle fresh and fully energized. Considering the strain that he demonstrated after defeating Anakin, fighting the two jedi back to back had drained him and may have factored into his decision to retreat from Yoda.

Years later, he would fight the same two heroes above Coruscant. Both had grown to greater power and were still moderately drained from the battle that they went through to get to Dooku. Despite this, Dooku had to exert great amounts of energy just to keep up with both and was eventually overwhelmed by the sheer offensive power and strength of a far younger Anakin Skywalker.

In comparison, Darth Maul fought against Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and talented Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi when all three were in comparatively tip-top shape. Despite wielding a weapon that grants more disadvantages than advantages, Maul utilized his training to match against both opponents and eventually tired out and killed Qui-Gon Jinn before overpowering and disarming Obi-Wan soon afterwards. At this point, Darth Maul had won the duel and without showing noticeable strain; what happened afterwards can be attributed to Maul's understandable arrogance and Obi-Wan's plot armor.

After his reconstruction, Maul now only has to worry about using most of his energy to control his upper body since his lower body is an artificial construction of metal and force energy. This will allow him to continue fighting while still storing a greater amount of stamina in the event that the battle drew on. Since his legs are composed of equal parts force energy and metal, Maul can still subconsciously use them as well as his original legs. In addition, he possesses a clear height advantage over Dooku and a longer reach. Advantages which will strain the older sith lord as the fight wears on.

In addition to being in his prime, Maul used his failure on Naboo as a growing point for his mental capabilities. While he originally preferred to defeat his enemy's through sheer brute strength and skill, after his rebirth, he will calculate and hone in on any weakness that he perceives in his enemy. In this situation, it was a simple matter of drawing out the battle for as long as possible.

Apart from Maul's deceptive tactic, the fighting styles of the two combatants also played a key role:

Dooku's Makashi was designed as a dueling technique for fighting force users and martial warriors which allowed him to battle against Maul's Direct and Focused Juyo technique for a great deal of time. However, Makashi's one glaring weakness is that it's finesse sacrifices kinetic energy. It's so focused on precision and blade control that its ability to generate offensive and defensive momentum is hampered. Which would leave it's attacks and parries easily shunted aside, leaving Makashi users vulnerable to forms that emphasized offense, power and brute strength.

Maul's Juyo is a heavily offensive and vicous style filled with fury and malignant grace. Furthermore, the style is best used against a single foe and was noted for it's controlled chaotic and seemingly erratic sequences. It also draws heavily on the passions and emotions of it's users, leading jedi instructors to forbid it's usage due to the draw of the dark side. Since Maul already has a VIP section within the Dark Side, he can safely utilize Juyo's tenets to it's fullest without any fear of losing himself. In addition, Juyo was described as the most physically demanding of the lightsaber styles due to its more open and kinetic application.

In short, Maul's default style would trump Dooku's fighting form because Juyo is naturally superior to Makashi. Juyo is Makashi's nemesis, it's strengths form the very core of Makashi's most glaring weakness. Dooku's greater experience and force ability would allow him to initially mitigate this effect and keep the playing field even. But Dooku simply would be unable to end the fight as quickly as he needed to due to Maul's endurance, ferocity and martial prowess and eventually his venerable age would turn against him.

As the fight wore on, Dooku became more and more strained physically and mentally like his own apprentice Qui-Gon had on Naboo. The more exhausted one becomes, the less capable of fluid thought and action that they are. As a result, Dooku would be mercilessly hammered by Maul's superior strength and fighting form. Eventually, Maul see an opportunity to defeat the tiring Tyrannus and seize it.

As for the manuever that Maul actually used...I'll refer you to the 3rd Trailer of The Old Republic. Remember that Zabrak Jedi Master that wielded a saberstaff in one hand and a lightsaber in the other against two opponents? Remember how he killed the pureblood sith inquisitor by activating the second blade of the saberstaff at a critical moment?

Remember that Maul is no longer the mindless silent killer that he was in the Phantom Menace. He is just as capable of forming a long-term strategy as Dooku. That was why he initially had his saberstaff using only one blade at first. Dooku may have recognized the saberstaff's design and attempted to cut it in half before Maul activated it, but Maul's ferocity left that tactic un-worthwhile to Dooku. Since he's an older age and therefore unable to store as much information in his mind, Dooku probably lost track of it once Maul began to utilize the duel wielding style and when Dooku started trying to defeat Maul through his knowledge of the force. This left Dooku open to being completely blindsided by Maul's second saberstaff blade when it was actually activated.

Due to his arrogance, Maul wouldn't immediately kill Dooku until the old man was completely defeated. However, he would avoid his mistake on Naboo and make absolute sure that he was victorious by severing both of Dooku's arms. Without his arms, the venerable Sith Lord would be unable to use either a lightsaber or force lightning and would be under too much pain and trauma to attempt to telekinetically use his lightsaber or any other application. Furthermore, Dooku would be resigned to defeat due to his innate nobility and wouldn't be able to come up with a contingency plan before Maul killed him. Persuasion or pleading would do nothing to avert Maul's desire to kill his enemy and his fate would be sealed.

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_**Breakdown:**_

**Count Dooku**

- Old Age and lesser physical form leaves him with less physical endurance and stamina

+ Greater experience and Force Ability was superior to Maul's limited assassination training

- Default and Preferred Fighting style was intrinsically weak against his opponent's fighting form

- Short Sighted Pride and growing exhaustion left him vulnerable to little details that he shouldn't have lost track of

- Great Charisma and Diplomacy don't count for jack against someone who doesn't care

+ Tactical ability further enabled him to martially battle against maul despite style disadvantage

+ Powerful enough to match against the sheer raw velocity of Maul's force abilities

+/- Force Lightning offered Long Range Advantage, but wasn't powerful enough to overcome Maul's defenses or endurance

**Darth Maul**

+ Greater endurance and longer period of sith training allowed Maul to withstand Dooku's superior Force Ability including his Force Lightning

+ Martial Training, Stamina, Versatility and Agility balanced against Dooku's greater dueling experience

- Mechanical Legs served as a potentially lethal hinderance against Dooku's application of telekinesis

- Reliance on saber combat left him vulnerable to Dooku's superior Force Abilitity

+ Fighting style was intrinsically superior to his opponent's fighting form

- Velocity and power of force abilities were no match for a more knowledgeable force user

+ Was able to combine all of his advantages into a workable long-term strategy

+ Ruthlessly honed in on his opponent's venerable age and exploited it to his advantage

* * *

**The Winner: **

**Darth Maul**

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this death duel and I hope that the verdict was reasonably fair.**

**I like both characters, but I always wondered who would win between the two of them. Research was a pain, but I was surprised that there would be a way for Maul to win even though the obvious choice would be Dooku.**

**Guess that shows that age and experience don't always win out...**

**The key reason that I had Maul win was because Maul isn't just a lightsaber user or a dark jedi...Maul is sith.**

**I know that Maul's very survival should be a breach in the Rule of Two, but it's beyond that. Maul was raised by the Sith, trained by the Sith, taught by the Sith and killed as a Sith. Dooku has never had to seriously test himself against a dark side user whose on the same mental footing as him. In addition, Dooku as a Sith Lord was meant to be a charismatic figurehead for Sidious' plans whereas Maul was trained to kill the enemies of the Sith. Maul is just the superior warrior between the two of them and would probably win.**

**That doesn't mean that Dooku is weak either, I just think that Maul is the stronger Sith Lord.**

**So why does Sidious want to replace Maul again?**


End file.
